File cabinet with tilting drawer front



Sept. 21, 1954 Q WQLTERS 2,689,775

FILE CABINET WITH TIL-TING DRAWER FRONT Filed March 17. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ISnvemtor CARL F. WOLTERS Sept. 21, 1954 WQLTE S 2,689,775

FILE CABINET WITH TILTING DRAWER FRONT Filed March 17, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Iinvcntor CARL F. WOLTERS Patented Sept. 21, 1954 FILE CABINET WITH TILTIN G DRAWER FRONT Carl F. Wolters, New Canaan, Conn., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., New York, N. Y.

Application March 17, 1951, Serial No. 216,171

8 Claims.

This invention relates to file cabinets and is particularly concerned with file cabinets provided with file drawers having tilting fronts.

The invention comprehends the provision in a file cabinet of one or more file drawers which may be constructed with tilting fronts of simplified design.

The invention provides simple and eiiective mechanism for moving the tilting front of a file drawer from tilted position to upright position as the drawer is moved inwardly into housed position in the cabinet and provides for the tilting drawer front to be inclined forwardly, if desired, as the file drawer is opened.

The invention also provides a file cabinet which may be equipped with a tilting drawer front closing mechanism for use with file drawers having tilting drawer fronts and suitable parts for cooperation with closing mechanism, but which may also be used without modification for ordinary file drawers.

The invention comprehends the provision of a file drawer having a tilting drawer front rendering access to the file contents more convenient; means associated with the drawer front closing mechanism to limit the outward tilting movement of the drawer front; and follower mechanism adapted to add to the convenience of filing.

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through a file cabinet showing a file drawer in which the features of the present invention are embodied;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, similar to Fig. 1, in which the file drawer is shown in partially open position with the front of the file drawer tilted outwardly;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse cross section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing more clearly the construction of the tilting drawer front and the tilting file follower;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing details of the hinge mechanism for the tilting drawer front looking at the back of the drawer front;

Fig. 6 is a cross section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross section similar to Fig. 6, showing the parts in the position they occupy when the drawer front is tilted outwardly.

The invention is shown embodied in a file drawer indicated generally by the reference numeral I 0, which is mounted in a file casing having sides H, back I2, front cross members I3, and rear cross members l4. The casing is provided, adjacent each of its sides H, with a case slide l6, each of which extends longitudinally of the cabinet and is rigidly secured by suitable means to the front and rear cross members l3 and I4. Extension slides l1 are movably mounted one in each case slide. Each extension slide has spaced upper and lower rollers I8 and it.

The body of the file drawer It is preferably formed of sheet metal to provide spaced, parallel, upright sides 23 which are preferably integral with a bottom portion 24. The drawer bottom 24 is provided with a centrally disposed, longitudinally extending depressed channel 26. On each side of the depressed channel 25, at the front of the bottom 24, there is formed a depending flange 21. Additional rigidity may be given the drawer bottom 24 by forming therein a pair of longitudinal side channels 28.

The drawer body further comprises a back 29 also preferably formed of sheet metal attached by suitable means such as welding, to sides 23. Each of the sides 23 is provided on its exterior, adjacent the bottom with a drawer slide 3| and at its top is provided with a longitudinal reinforcing rail 32. Drawer slides 3! are preferably formed as angle bars, each having one flange thereof secured to one of the drawer sides 23 by suitable means such as welding. and having its other flange 33 extending outwardly from drawer Ill. The flanges 33 of drawer slides 3| are received between upper and lower rollers l8 and i9, respectively, carried by extension slides I! and are longitudinally movable therein, thus supporting the drawer and permitting its movement into and out of the casing.

The file drawer i0 is also provided with a front, designated generally by numeral 36, that comprises an outer panel as the top of which is bent rearwardly and downwardly to form a transverse channel 39. The bottom of front panel 38 is bent rearwardly and upwardly to form a transverse channel 4!. The drawer front 35 is hinged at its bottom on a front member 43 that is secured to depending flanges 21 of bottom 2 at the forward end of the drawer 2i and projects downwardly into transverse channel ll of front 36. Front bottom member 43 is provided at its lower edge with a rearwardly extending flange 44 and the reverse flange d6 of lower transverse channel at of panel 38 is provided with integral tongues 41, best shown in Figs. 6 and 7, bent forwardly over rearwardly projection flange 44 and pivotally supporting drawer front 36 thereon.

The drawer front 36 is also provided with an inner head or panel 18. The inner head 43, except at its periphery, is spaced rearwardly from front panel 38 and at its upper end is secured in transverse channel 39. A drawer pull 5! is provided onthe outside of panel 33 and is mounted thereon by threaded studs 52 which extend into the drawer and through a transverse channel 53 in the inner head 48 in which they are secured by nuts 54. Above the channel 53, the inner drawer head 48 is provided with converging upper and lower transverse faces 55 and 57, respectively, which slope rearwardly from the outer panel 38. A forwardly extending flange 59 provided on the inner head 48 at the bottom thereof engages the outer drawer panel 38 above front bottom member 43. There is also provided on each side of the drawer front 36 a rearwardly extending wing 6| which may be formed integrally with outer panel 38. If desired, however, the wings may be formed on inner head 48 or may be separate and attached to the drawer front by suitable means.

The file drawer i9 is provided along the ex terior of each side 23 thereof with a longitudinally extending channel guide 53, the edges of which are bent over to provide top and bottom grooves 64 and 65, respectively. Arranged within each of the guides 63 for slidable movement therein is a slide arm (it; The forward end of each of the slide arms 68 is provided with a pair of spaced longitudinally extending fingers 61 adapted to grasp a rounded tenon 68 formed on the end of aslide lever 69. Each of the slide levers Bil is also slidably held in one of the longitudinal channel guides 63 and is tapered toward its forward end where it is attached by a screw or bolt 1! to the drawer front 36. The pivotal movement provided for by the knuckle joints formed by the fingers 6! and tenons 58 and the tapering of the slide levers 68 permit outward tiltin movement of the front 3%. Adjacent its rear end each of the slide arms 65 is provided with an outwardly extending roller stud I2.

A slide cam M is pivotally mounted within the file casing adjacent each side of the drawer Ill. The cams 14 may conveniently be stamped from sheet metal and each comprises a body portion 16,.a slide cam channel ll projecting from one end of said body portion and an outwardly extending leg 18 at the other end of said body portion. In the embodiment illustrated, bolts F9 are used to mount the slide cams I l on the outer sides of the case slides it with the open sides of the slide cam channels ll facing the drawer Iii. A roller 82 is provided on the outer face of each of the drawer sides 23 below the channel guides 63 and forwardly of the rear end thereof. Each of the rollers 82 is carried on a roller stud 83 which projects outwardly from the sides 23 of the file drawer I0 and is adapted to operatively engage the outer surface of the cam channel ll of one of the cams M.

The drawer front 36 of the file drawer Ill which, as previously described, is arranged to pivot or tilt outwardly as a result of the hinge arrangement provided at its lower end by the tongues ll, is drawn into vertical position as the drawer is closed by cooperation of the roller studs 83 mounted on the sides 23 of the drawer l!) and the roller studs 12 mounted on the slide arms 66 with the pivotally mounted slide cams M.

The operation is as follows: With the file drawer I!) pulled out of the cabinet and with the drawer front 36 tilted outwardly, all as shown in Fig. 2, rearward movement of the drawer HI will cause the roller studs 12 to enter the open ends of the slide cam channels ll. With continued movement of the drawer the outer faces of the cam channels ll will then be engaged by the roller studs 83 and the slide cams i l will be caused to pivot around the bolts l9 thus moving the roller studs 72, the slide arms 66, the slide levers 69 and the drawer front 35 rearwardly with respect to the drawer. Since the roller studs 83 are nearer the pivot points of the respective slide cams id with which they cooperate than the roller studs t2, the studs l2 will be moved faster than the studs 83 move with respect to the cabinet and accordingly the tilting drawer front 33 will be pulled into upright position by the slide arms 65 and slide levers 6t before or at the same time that the drawer reaches the position within the cabinet which it occupies when closed.

When the drawer ill is pulled open by the drawer pull 58 the action of the slide cams and roller studs is reversed and the drawer front 36 reaches full titlted position when the drawer is only partially opened,. as shown in Fig. 2. As best illustrated in Fig. 3, the lower ends of the slide cam channels Tl engage the tops of the case slides it to hold the slide cams M in the position shown in Fig. 2 so that the roller studs 12 may enter the slide cam channels ll. If desired, the le s 18 on the slide cams l4 may engage stops (not shown) to restrain rearward movement of k the cams M.

The sloping face 56' of the inner head 48 of' the drawer front 3% serves, as shown in Fig. 2, to provide clearance between the top of the drawer front and the filed material 86 such as folders, papers and the like contained in drawer lfiwhen the front is tilted outwardly. Tilting movement of drawer front 36 is arrested by engagement of the slide levers 59 with the flanges on the bottom edges of guides 63 forming rooves 65. When the drawer front occupies an upright position (Fig. 1) each of the screws or bolts 'H is received in a slot 88 provided in the forward end of each of the drawer sides 23 and the wedge formed by the converging faces 56 and 51 of the inner head-l8 compresses the filed material 86 in the drawer [0.

The file drawer I0 is also provided with a follower, designated generally by numeral 9l, to maintain the filed material in upright position. The follower 8! comprises a body 92 which includes a depending, transverse plate 94 extendil'lg downwardly between the sides 23 of drawer It and a pair of spaced, channelled slides 96 adapted to ride on the guide rails 32 provided along the tops of sides 23 as the follower is moved longitudinally of the drawer by the grip or handle 93 thereon. A pivoted plate 91 substantially the same height as the folders and the like used in the file drawer is pivotally attached to the front of the follower body 532 by means of a pivot pin 98 en aging hinge plates 99 and I00 attached, respectively, to the body Q2 and the plate 91. The pivoted plate Si is formed, adjacent its lower end, with a rearwardly extending ear llli to which there is pivotally attached by a pin or rivet [02 a latch I03.

The free end of latch 13 extends through slot 06 provided in depending plate and a notch ill! in the latch engages a tongue H39 which, as shown in Fig. 4, projects from the rear of the plate 94. When the follower 9| is spaced from the back 29 of the drawer ID the notch I01 of the latch H13 receives tongue H39 and holds the pivoted plate 91 tilted forwardly at the bottom and rearwardly at the top, thus making inspection of the filed material easier and permitting such material to be grasped and withdrawn from the file conveniently. When, however, the follower 9! is moved rearwardly in the drawer ID to permit full utilization of the filing space in the drawer, the rounded end Hi l of the latch I03 engages the back 29 of the drawer and slides upwardly thereon thus disengaging the notch lll'l from the tongue I09. The plate 91 is thereby allowed to pivot into vertical position to provide the maximum amount of filin space in the drawer II).

An index rod I I2 is provided in the file drawer Ill, the rod extending longitudinally within the central channel 26 at the bottom of the drawer and being adapted to pass through perforations or eyelets in index cards to prevent removal of the cards from the file. At its outer end the rod H2 is provided with an enlarged portion Hil- Which extends through a vertical slot H6 in front bottom member 33 and another, longer, vertical slot H7 in the outer panel 38 of drawer front 36. An annular groove H9 in the enlarged portion N3 of the rod engages in the slot H6 to hold the rod in place, the greater length of the slot H1 in the panel 38 permitting pivoting of the drawer front 36 without interfering with the rod. The index rod H2 may be withdrawn from the file drawer H] by grasping the knob l 25 on the outer end of the rod and disengaging the annular groove I I9 from slot I I6.

From the foregoing description of the construction and operation of the improved file drawer of the present invention, it will be seen that the drawer embodies a tilting drawer front which is comprised of a very few parts, is easily manufactured and assembled and which has an inner head of such configuration a to compress the file contents when in upright position and to allow increased ease of access when tilted. The mechanism for returning the drawer front to vertical position as the file drawer is closed is simple and positive in operation and the modification of the file cabinet required therefor is such that file drawers having non-tilting fronts may be used therein without difiiculty, It will also be evident that the following provides the convenience of a tilted back rest in the file drawer until the filing capacity of the drawer is approached.

The invention claimed is:

1. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing, said drawer having a hinged front movable between upright and tilted positions, a movable cam carried by said casing, means carried by said drawer for operating said cam as said drawer approaches the limit of its movement into said casing, and actuating means car ried by said drawer and connected to said hinged front, said actuating means having a portion movable by said cam to move said front from tilted position to upright position.

2. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing and having a front, said front being hingedly mounted on said drawer and movable between upright and tilted positions, a pivoted cam carried by said casing, cam operating means carried by said drawer for causing pivotal movement of said cam as said drawer approaches the limit of its movement into said casing, and actuating means including members carried by and movable longitudinally of said drawer, said actuating means being connected at one end to said drawer front and having at its other end means adapted to be moved by said cam to move said drawer front from tilted position to upright position as said cam is moved by said operating means.

3. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing and having a front, said front being hingedly mounted on said drawer and movable between upright and tilted positions, a pivoted cam mounted on said casing, actuating means including members carried by and movable longitudinally of said drawer, said means being pivotally connected at one end to said drawer front and having, at its other end, means engageable in a slot in said cam, and a cam operating member mounted on said drawer and engaging said cam as said drawer approaches the limit of its movement into said casing to cause pivotal movement of said cam and to move said drawer front from tilted position to upright position by said actuating means.

4. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing and having a front, said drawer front being hingedly mounted on said drawer and movable between upright and tilted positions, a cam pivotally mounted on said casing and having a cam slot, a cam operating member carried by said drawer and operatively engaging said cam as said drawer approaches the limit of its movement into said casing, and means operatively connected to said drawer front adapted to engage in said cam slot prior to engagement of said cam operating member with said cam and to be moved by said cam.

5. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing and having a front, said drawer front being hingedly mounted on said drawer at the bottom thereof and being pivotally movable between upright and tilted positions, a cam pivotally rnounted on said casing and having a cam slot, a cam operating member mounted on said drawer and engaging said cam as said drawer approaches the limit of its movement into said casing to cause pivotal movement of said cam, and means carried by said drawer adapted to engage in said cam slot prior to engagement of said cam operating member with said cam, said means being operatively connected to said drawer front and movable by said cam.

6. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing and having a front, said drawer front being hingedly mounted on said drawer at the bottom thereof and movable between upright and tilted position, a cam pivotally mounted on said casing and having a cam slot, drawer front actuating means including pivotally connected members carried by said drawer and slidably movable longitudinally thereof, and a cam operating member mounted on said drawer and operatively engaging said cam as said drawer approaches the limit of its movement into said casing, said actuating means being pivotally connected at one end to said drawer front and having at its other end means adapted to engage in said cam slot prior to engagement of said cam operating member with said cam, said last mentioned means and said actuating means being movable by said cam to move said drawer front from tilted position to upright position.

7. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing, a front for said drawer movable beflange, said tongues pivotally engaging a; portion of said drawer and permitting movement of said drawer front between upright and tilted positions.

8. A filing cabinet comprising a casing, a drawer mounted for movement into and out of said casing, said drawer having a body and a front movable between upright and tilted position andmeans carried by said drawer and said'casing cooperating in controlling movement of said front between said positions, said front having a transverse channel portion at its bottom formed with an upwardly extending inner flange, a plurality of tongues formed in said inner flange, said body having a depending flange having a rearwardly directed lip-at-the front end thereof extending intosaid channel portion over said inner flange, said tongues being bent forwardly against and over said rearwardly directed lip and pivotally supporting said front on said flange for movement between upright and tilted positions and said tonguesengaging against said lip in said tilted position to limit the amount of said movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,290,743 Herpst et a1. Jan. '7, 1919 1,561,752 Straubel Nov. 17, 1925 1,833,882 Attwood Nov. 24, 1931 1,939,487 Brainard Dec. 12, 1933 2,066,444 Albert Jan. 5, 1937 2,090,648 Straubel Aug. 24, 1937 2,232,531 Houston et a1. Feb. 18, 1941 2,388,922 Liesken Nov. 13, 1945 

